An Ocelot Will Predict the Winners of Some of the World Cup Matches

An Ocelot is a Brazilian feline that's apparently well-versed in making life decisions.

Isidoro is under a lot of pressure these days. Not only does he have to make some toughÂ decisions about which teams he thinks will advance toward the World Cup finals, but he also has to Tweet about themâ€”which is hard because, well, Isidoro is a wildÂ felineÂ that lives at Franklin Park Zoo. (Spoiler: cats donâ€™t have thumbs).

This week PRIâ€™s The WorldÂ launched a Twitter account, with the support ofÂ the Dorchester-based animal sanctuary,Â andÂ announced that Isidoroâ€”or Izzyâ€”a Brazilian Ocelot, would be calling the shots about which matches the U.S. will win in the coming weeks as the team prepares to take on a host of competitors from around the globe.Â Izzy’s first prediction, for the U.S. versus Ghana match on Monday, June 16, will be announced this Friday.

According to PRIâ€™s The World, who partnered with Franklin Park Zoo officials to get Izzy involved in the prediction process, the Ocelot will use his â€śspecial predictive powersâ€ť to make guesses about the winner of each of the U.S. games, as well as the World Cup final. AfterÂ channeling his inner soccer spirit, Izzy will be presented with some of his “favorite items” ahead of each scheduled match, and whichever one he picksâ€”item A or item Bâ€”will determine his guess for which team will win aÂ particular game and advance in the competition. “We find a lot of the time when zoos do this, the animals are pretty right on,” said Jeannine Jackle, assistant curator at the Franklin Park Zoo and an avid soccer fan. “He may or may not pick the winner for us, but he’s such a busy guy that we think he will.”